Today marks the 75th anniversary of the beginning of production of the 1943 steel U.S. cent coin on February 23, 1943.

Wartime shortages of copper forced the mint to look into alternatives, and the final choice was to produce the 1943 cent with zinc-coated steel.

The coin was not a popular success.  People confused them with dimes, and the lack of zinc plating on the edges gave the coins a tendency to rust.  And becasue they were magnetic, the coins would not work in vending machines.  For 1944, the mint began using recycled shell casings with a small amount of copper, resulting in an alloy similar to that used before the war.